Erika Herudková was born on 10 June 1939 in Bolatice in the Hlučín region. By that time it was already a part of the Third Reich, its inhabitants had German citizenship and the men were drafted to the Wehrmacht. Her father Maxmilián Duda owned an inn and as an important local businessman he couldn't reject the offer to join the NSDAP. However, due to his illness he evaded military service for most of the war. Eventually, in January 1945 he was drafted to the Wehrmacht and later died in Soviet captivity. In April 1945 Erika witnessed the heavy fighting of the Ostrava-Opava operation. After the end of the war the family inn was expropriated. When Erika began attending school she had to wear an "N" marking a German on her sleeve. Only at school did she start to learn Czech.